Housing Information

From the Director of Admissions

• Keep an eye on - and contribute to! - our electronic bulletin board's Housing Forum.  Current and entering students continue to post notices.  Looking for a roommate or apartment listings?  Wondering which landlords in Hyde Park come recommended?  Thinking about establishing an intentional living community?  You will find all this and more on the bulletin board.
  
  
• If you need to travel to Chicago during the summer to find housing, contact us at admissions@ctschicago.edu or (773) 322-0262 well in advance.  We will reserve and pay for one Hyde Park guest room for up to three nights while you apartment-hunt.

On this page , you will find information on:

1) Rental Agencies/Recommended Landlords

Donald Williams: Low rents and well-kept apartments in the northern areas of Hyde Park.  Several CTS students live in his units. He is willing to lease on a monthly basis.  His units are about 1 mile from CTS, are not close to Ray School and do not have laundry facilities on site.
(773) 538-6789

MAC Apartments: www.macapartments.com (773) 548-5077 
They usually respond to renter requests within 24 hours, and they are busy upgrading/rehabbing most if not all of their units.  They just acquired a ton of new apartments, some of which may not have been as well maintained under their old owner.  This does make them the agency with the most buildings in the neighborhood, however.  Many (but not all) of their units are small, but they offer a lot of amenities (depending on the building) that might be worth it to some students:  fitness rooms, security, parking, and great views of the city.  Studios -- $625-650; One bedroom -- $850-900; Two bedroom -- $1175-1250; Three bedroom -- $1500.

TLC Management: www.chicagorentals.com  Some of their buildings do offer 3, 6 and 9 month leases, but at a higher rate.  TLC, like MAC, has many amenities (depending on the building), including on-site management, 24-hour emergency maintenance, and laundry and fitness rooms on-site.  TLC has five buildings in Hyde Park and others elsewhere in the city.  Studios -- $600-$900; One bedroom -- $750-1000; Two bedroom -- $1200-1325

Parker Holsman:  http://www.parkerholsman.com/welcome.htm (773) 493-2525
You may find cheaper rents using this company.  A few of their units seem to be "garden levels" (basement apartments) which are not as pretty, but have more space for the money.  Their website conveniently lists exactly which apartments are available at any given time. 
1461 E. 57th Street

2) Commuter Housing Information

Disciples Divinity House: http://ddh.uchicago.edu
The Disciples House is a residence for some University of Chicago graduate students, but also has guest rooms.  The guest rooms are double rooms (with two twin beds), for $70/night, or $35/person per night, and have private bathrooms.
1156 E. 57th Street
(773) 643-1144 or mpeeler@uchicago.edu

Friends House (Quaker):
The Quaker House has guest rooms available for $35 per night in a friendly atmosphere.
5615 S. Woodlawn, Chicago, IL 60637
(773) 288-3066

3) Other Management Companies In Hyde Park*

4) Other Options to Consider

Catholic Worker House Su Casa : http://www.catholicworker.org/communities/Commdetail.cfm?Community=35
4 miles west of CTS:  - about 40 minutes by bus (on the 55) or 20 minutes by bike.  Their rates are $250 a room, in addition to sharing house responsibilities, with a shared kitchen and bath. 
Su Casa Catholic Worker Community
5045 S Laflin St
(773) 376-9263
sucasacw@juno.com 

Cooperative Living Arrangement: 6107 South Woodlawn Avenue
The residents of this building share a potluck dinner one night each week.  A current CTS staff member lives in this building.
Contact Sara Pitcher at (773) 643-4141.

Gamma Alpha Housing Cooperative:
http://gamma-alpha-society.uchicago.edu/ga.swf
This graduate student housing co-op on University Avenue currently houses 15 graduate students, including one CTS student.  Members have private or semi-private single rooms and share bathrooms, a kitchen, and other common living spaces.  Rent is extremely low, ranging around $150 or $200 monthly, including utilities, laundry, and wireless internet access.  However, the time commitment can be high, as members share household chores, including maintenance and repair and house recruitment.
For more information, contact the Co-op at graduate.coop@gmail.com.

Qumbya Cooperative
This cooperative has many student residents, and low rates.  Residents share responsibilities for the upkeep of the house and have weekly meals together.
www.qumbya.com
Email: qumbyamc@qumbya.com
(773) 592-6780

5) Searching for Apartments Online and in Newspapers

Single rooms within a household are rare in Hyde Park.  The best places to find them advertised are in the Hyde Park Herald Extra and the U of C's online want-ads called Marketplace (http://marketplace.uchicago.edu/category.php?category=apartments).  However, you may want to consider looking outside the Hyde Park area for cheaper and/or more spacious apartments.

For apartment listings or to find a roommate, check out:

1.  The Chicago Reader:  www.chicagoreader.com

2. Chicago Craig's List:  http://chicago.craigslist.org/roo/

3.  The Chicago Sun Times: http://www.suntimes.com/classified/homes/rentals.html.  Click Rooms For Rent in the drop down box entitled "Select a Category." 

4.  The Chicago Tribune: http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/renting/

6) Things to Consider When Choosing an Apartment

Local Bus Routes
You can find maps of local bus routes at the Reynolds Club (the southwest corner of University and 57th up the stairs and in the lobby area), or online at www.transitchicago.com.  The U of C bus routes are the 170, 171, 172, and 173.  Other useful Hyde Park buses are the 55, 28, 6, and 15.Anyone can ride the CTA buses. 

Security Information
Another resource to use when considering a rental is the Chicago Police ICAM website where you can look for crime reports in the area that you're considering: http://citizenicam.chicagopolice.org/.  You can search by address - the site will walk you through the process.  An alternate site with similar information presented in a different format that some may find easier to scan is http://www.chicagocrime.org/. 

The Ray School – A very high-quality elementary school that draws from the Hyde Park area.  Not all apartments in Hyde Park are within easy walking distance from Ray School, although children of any CTS international student may attend Ray School, regardless of where the family lives.
http://www.ray.cps.k12.il.us/
(773) 535-0970